Flevocentrale, Lelystad

Electrabel Suez Nederland issued a multiple commission for a new power station on the Flevo island, with two new production units and a prospect of a possible future extension with two further units. In the winning design of Dok Architects, energy is made tangible in the buildings and surroundings. The new power station is intended to excel in emission reduction and efficiency, but is also planned to be human, warm and soft. The designers have opted for a three-dimensional skin that wraps around the technical elements and effortlessly assumes a shape. The skin consists of a network of triangles and will receive a topcoat of mother of pearl that will reflect the sunlight in a thousand colours. By night the building will be identifiable from a small LED at each node which will wink, gently and in graduated colours, into the darkness. The design has been developed in collaboration with Lodewijk Baljon, landscape architects, and structural engineers Ney & Partners.